E22
IN RECOGNITION OF THE
pwalker on DSKD5P82C1PROD with REMARKS
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks
dedicated above all to his family. He and his
HONORABLE CONRAD FOA
HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay
tribute to the Honorable Conrad Foa, an out-
standing New Yorker who has distinguished
himself as a leader in the worlds of business,
philanthropy, and civic and political affairs. A
Member of the New York State Democratic
Committee, Mr. Foa’s contributions to the
community were recognized at the annual din-
ner gala of the Lexington Democratic Club last
month. As the first ‘‘reform club’’ in New York
City, the Lexington Democratic Club strives for
inclusive civic participation in our nation’s
greatest metropolis, and Conrad Foa is a
proud heir to that great reform tradition.
As the Democratic State Committee Mem-
ber representing the 73rd Assembly District on
the East Side of Manhattan, and as a Member
of Manhattan Community Board 8, Conrad
Foa has distinguished himself as a dynamic
and forceful leader for his community. He and
his wife Linda Foa were both born in Manhat-
tan, as were both of their sons Justin and Bar-
rett. As a lifelong resident of Manhattan’s
Upper East Side, Conrad Foa has volunteered
his time and effort to maintaining and improv-
ing the quality of life for his fellow Upper East
Siders, and has thrown himself in public life by
twice running for a seat in the New York State
Senate. In recognition of his outstanding lead-
ership abilities, the Democratic voters of New
York’s 73rd Assembly District elected Conrad
Foa to the New York State Democratic Com-
mittee in 2006.
Conrad Foa has also distinguished himself
as a premier leader in the insurance industry.
As the principal of Chairman of Foa & Son, a
leading insurance brokerage firm which nego-
tiates insurance coverage on behalf of the
consumer, he ushered his family-owned enter-
prise into the twenty-first century. The firm’s
proud tradition is now being carried on by its
President, Conrad and Linda’s son Justin, who
is the fifth generation Foa to head the firm,
which will be celebrating its sesquicentennial
anniversary next year.
Conrad Foa’s leadership and achievements
have been recognized on many occasions by
his colleagues and peers. He is a past Presi-
dent and Director of the Insurance Brokers As-
sociation of the State of New York, and was
instrumental in getting two pro-consumer bills
passed to keep jobs and holding insurance
premiums down. He was named a member of
several prestigious and exclusive associations
for business leaders, including the Young
Presidents Organization, the World Presidents
Organization, and the Chief Executives Orga-
nization. Mr. Foa is Founder of the Inter-
national Executives Association and a past
President and Director of Executives’ Associa-
tion of Greater New York, a networking organi-
zation which promotes New York businesses.
A dedicated philanthropist, he also served as
Member of the Board of Directors of the Fed-
eration of Protestant Welfare Agencies. He is
a graduate of the Wharton School of Business
at the University of Pennsylvania and received
a Master’s Degree in Economics from The
London School of Economics.
Despite all his activity in business, civic, and
political life, Conrad Foa has always remained
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January 6, 2011
action in the fight against Alzheimer’s; so too
wife Linda are the proud parents of their sons
Justin and Barrett, an accomplished actor and
performer, and doting grandparents to Justin’s
son, Max.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that my distinguished
colleagues join me recognizing the enormous
contributions to our civic and political life made
by the Honorable Conrad Foa, a great New
Yorker and a great American.
f
HONORING THE ACADEMIC ACCOM-
PLISHMENTS OF DANIEL LAGE
HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN
OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, it gives
me great pleasure to recognize a young man
from south Florida, Daniel Lage, who has
made headlines with his remarkable academic
achievements at the young age of twenty-one.
Daniel’s family history is a sadly familiar
story for many of us in south Florida; that of
being forced to flee the Castro dictatorship of
Cuba for the land of freedom and opportunity:
the United States.
I too come from this same background—and
I know that the struggles of his family served
to strengthen this young man’s passion to suc-
ceed.
There is no better path to success than that
of a driven individual pursuing a sound edu-
cation.
I know that Daniel demonstrated his eager-
ness to learn and his matching intellect every
day in the classroom. Through his hard work
and with the support of his loving family by the
time he graduated Gulliver Preparatory School
he had been named Valedictorian and had
earned the prestigious Silver Knight Award.
Later, Daniel was accepted into Harvard
University, where he has pursued a degree in
history and science and will graduate in May.
Never forgetting his roots, Daniel has been the
president of Harvard’s Cuban American Un-
dergraduate Association and remains com-
mitted to the idea of a free and prosperous
Cuba.
Daniel embodies the noble values,
unshakable integrity, and sheer determination
that we all should aspire to match. Many peo-
ple and institutions have certainly taken note.
Daniel has received the incredibly pres-
tigious Rhodes Scholarship where he will
study at the world renowned Oxford University
in England. Winners are selected for many de-
fining qualities including high academic
achievement, personal integrity, and leader-
ship potential. Impressively, he is one of only
seventy Floridians to ever receive this scholar-
ship.
At Oxford, Daniel expects to pursue a Mas-
ter of Science—with a focus on different na-
tions’ approaches to caring for the chronically
ill. Sadly, this focus is not arbitrary, and again
both he and my family share a solemn com-
mon bond. His grandfather, Eugene, was re-
cently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. I
know firsthand the terrible effects of this debili-
tating disease on an individual. My mother,
Amanda, has been fighting a losing battle
against the disease over these last few years.
I know that my personal experiences with
this horrific disease have prompted me to take
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have Daniel’s experiences. He has partnered
with the Alzheimer’s Association as an advo-
cate and has every intention and expectation
of becoming both a physician and a policy-
maker in his future. I understand this deep-
seated passion for geriatric medicine and cer-
tainly expect that his strong resolve will play
an important part in unlocking the mysteries of
this terrible disease and finally finding a cure.
I know Daniel fully recognizes the immeas-
urable value of his ongoing education, and in
doing so I am confident he will accomplish
many great things for our community in south
Florida, our magnificent United States, and
above all continue to make his family im-
mensely proud.
So once again, Daniel, from a former Flor-
ida certified teacher and a firm proponent of
education as a lifelong journey: I congratulate
you on all you have accomplished—you are a
fine example of the best and brightest in south
Florida and I wish you truly all the best on all
you hope to accomplish in the future.
f
THE WALK FOR HEALTHCARE:
HEALTHCARE STORIES FROM
WEST VIRGINIA AND PENNSYL-
VANIA COLLECTED BY OGAN
GUREL, M.D.
HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I submit the
following stories, collected by Dr. Ogan Gurel.
‘‘Tom described a situation in which he
was buying two batteries for a scooter. Since
he was paying out-of-pocket, they discounted
the price $30 below the price they charged
Medicare. ‘Something fishy is going on,’ he
said.’’ Tom—Chester, 7/14/2009
‘‘I met Sharyn at the DaVinci salon. No, I
wasn’t going in for a pedicure, which, with
the condition my feet were in wouldn’t have
been easy anyway. Actually, she peeked out
the door and asked, ‘Are you that doctor
walking from Chicago to DC?’ and invited me
in for a glass of water. Being busy with cli-
ents, there was no opportunity to get any
stories. But they all were supportive of the
Walk. ‘We sure need healthcare reform,’
Sharyn said, as her co-workers gathered
about along with the clients reclining in
their chairs nodded in agreement.’’ Sharyn—
Chester, 7/14/2009
‘‘Gayla told me that she and her husband
have been ‘very lucky.’ They’ve had em-
ployer-provided insurance through Verizon—
‘pretty good insurance,’ she told me. But
Frontier is buying the West Virginia assets
of the company, so in the transition, as she
put it, they have no idea what it’ll mean for
them. This is important because her stepson
has cystic fibrosis (CF). At age 23 he’s a real
survivor. He’s done well but lately, from an
insurance standpoint, it’s gotten very com-
plicated. Based on doctor’s orders, he’s
strictly limited to very light work, at a max-
imum of 30 hours a week. So essentially, as
Gayla told me, ‘He’s stuck with a part-time
employment status. Insurance on his own is
not a possibility,’ she added. ‘And he can’t
get SSI because he actually can work a lit-
tle.’ And while Verizon promised to cover
him (as part of their employer-based cov-
erage) even into adulthood, Gayla and her
husband don’t know if that agreement will
be honored by the new company. She doubts
that it will be. It sounds like there are so
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 January 6, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks
many cracks in the system, I said. ‘Yes. It’s
a real problem. And it’s not abstract—my
son’s life depends on it.’ ’’ Gayla—Hagers-
town, 7/22/2009
‘‘ ‘I’ve got no money for insurance,’ Shir-
ley, working behind the counter at Reeve’s
marketplace, told me. ‘Just Medicare, pretty
healthy, I’m lucky.’ She told me how she
didn’t sign up for the AARP prescription
medication plan. ‘It didn’t make sense,’ she
said. ‘AARP wasn’t really paying and they
seemed to be getting the higher priced drugs
anyway.’ ’’ Shirley—Hookstown, 7/14/2009
‘‘As I entered Pittsburgh, Deb, working the
counter at the Miley’s BP convenience store,
told me she has no insurance. She’ll only go
to the doctor if absolutely necessary. ‘Basi-
cally,’ she told me, ‘healthcare is just not
available.’ ’’ Deb—Pittsburgh, 7/15/2009
‘‘Robin, whose smile brightened up my day
after a long day walking, told me the story
about her girlfriend in Chicago. ‘She was
doing well, but then lost her job. She lost her
health insurance and last year, at age 50, was
diagnosed with multiple myeloma.’ So how
did she deal with that? ‘Well, she had to
come up with $689/month for her insurance,
the hospital would not provide healthcare
otherwise.’ As her condition got even more
serious, all of their mutual friends and soror-
ity sisters (Delta Sigma Phi) have been rais-
ing funds and sending her money for her
care. ‘I guess,’ Robin told me, ‘if it wasn’t for
us, she could be dead.’ She said it without
ego or braggadocio but rather out of sadness
(even with our bright smile) that it had to be
that way.’’ Robin—Pittsburgh, 7/15/2009
‘‘Rhonda returned to Pennsylvania to take
care of her elderly family. She’s had self-pay
insurance via Highmark, the major insurer
in the Pittsburgh market. ‘It’s alright so
long as you don’t get sick.’ Regarding the re-
cent debates in Congress, she also added, ‘If
you believe anything those execs put out,
then you’re a fool.’ She had a situation last
year of right upper-quadrant abdominal pain.
She went to the ER, which was an ordeal.
They started the work-up, a GI consult, sur-
gical consult, ultrasound, HIDA scan were
ordered and was admitted for overnight ob-
servation. She told me all the tests returned
negative. And then, Highmark ended up de-
nying the $7,000 for the hospital stay and all
the radiology consults deeming that it was
all medically unnecessary. ‘There was no
way for me to know they wouldn’t cover it.’
The hospital called for pre-approval, but the
insurance company still had denied it. But
Rhonda fought it, saying either the hospital
was practicing fraudulent medicine or the
company was wrong. ‘They finally backed-off
and paid.’ Rhonda also described a story
from a friend of hers who worked as a dental
assistant. She had attended a conference on
billing which the whole point of which was
how to bill so the insurance company could
deny the claim: what diagnostic categories
to use, etc. The percentage of people who
would not fight was estimated at 70%.’’
Rhonda—Pittsburgh, 7/16/2009
‘‘As an ambulance driver, John definitely
notes that, ‘the uninsured come to us in a
more severe state. They don’t have a family
doctor and so in the ER people end up having
to wait more because these critically ill pa-
tients come in.’ He told me it was not un-
common for them to wait six months to a
year before seeking any medical attention.’’
John—Braddock, 7/16/2009
pwalker on DSKD5P82C1PROD with REMARKS
‘‘As an EMT, Christina’s seen diabetics
without medications coming into the ER two
to three times a week because their sugar
gets out of whack. They really don’t have
any health care access otherwise.’’ Chris-
tina—Braddock, 7/16/2009
‘‘Zenobia has to see a doctor regularly for
her prescriptions. ‘It’s really hard, because I
have no insurance,’ she said. ‘And I work
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hard. But since I’m part-time, Medicaid says
I’m not eligible.’ But since she’s working
only 25 hours a week, she doesn’t apparently
qualify for insurance through her employer
either. ‘According to Medicaid, you’re work-
ing,’ she said. But according to her em-
ployer, ‘You’re not working.’ The cracks in
the system she was facing, seemed, from her
expression, to be more like gaping chasms,
with no way out. When she heard public as-
sistance was no longer available for her, she
called them, crying, ‘Why have I been
dropped?’ To which they answered, ‘You
make more than $200 a month.’ So she makes
do with a hodge-podge of different programs
and deals. She’s able to keep her medication
bill down to $60 a month because the phar-
macy has a special plan but her various
other medical bills have accumulated to
close to $6,000. ‘It’s all a mess, all so com-
plicated,’ she told me. ’And if I really get
hurt, I’m pretty much screwed.’ ’’ Zenobia—
North Braddock, 7/16/2009
‘‘At the tail end of a monstrous thunder-
storm, seeking some shelter, even though I
was soaking wet anyway, I met Mary at the
Wendy’s just west of Greensburg. She was
there with her daughter and grandson. We
talked about the Walk and about health care
reform. Mary shared with me the story of
her son, Jim. ‘He works in a plant nursery.
He’s got no insurance but suffers from sym-
pathetic dystrophy, you know what that is,
right?’ Yes, I replied. ‘He’s self-pay but basi-
cally he just suffers in pain. It breaks my
heart.’ ’’ Mary—Greensburg, 7/17/2009
‘‘ ‘You can reach out for help, but if you
have no health insurance you’re nobody.’
That’s how Rebecca concluded the story she
told me about the death of her boyfriend. It’s
a complicated story but basically the 24-
year-old was off and on in a Methadone rehab
program. He was doing well in rehab when
his treatment was about 1/2 done, his insur-
ance ran out. Because of this, ‘The rehab fa-
cility, kicked him out,’ Rebecca told me. She
explained how, with withdrawal symptoms
kicking in, he arrived home very sick. Two
days later, near-comatose he was taken to
the hospital where he was admitted to the
ICU with liver failure but, according to Re-
becca, they, ‘really didn’t do anything.’ At
the time of his death, she said, with incredu-
lity, that the staff was joking in front of her,
laughing even. The trauma continued, even
after his death. She described how the cor-
oner came in and started accusing people.
‘Then a doctor arrived, and asked if the dece-
dent had insurance.’ Rebecca shook her head.
‘No, I answered. And the doctor asked if I
wanted to see the body. I said, yes, but he
told me that they had taken it away to make
room for the next body.’ Rebecca told me it
was all very sarcastic and cruel. But the
nightmare was not over. Then the bills start-
ed arriving. They were not married but the
rehab center (which kicked him out) and the
hospital demanded payment. ‘They fraudu-
lently indicated that I signed the bills,’ said
Rebecca. ‘It’s been two years now and
they’re still sending bills. Between the doc-
tor and the financial games, I never had a
chance to grieve over his death.’ Rebecca’s
eyes saddened as I asked her to sign for her
consent. ‘You can reach out for help, but if
you have no health insurance you’re no-
body.’ ’’ Rebecca—Greensburg, 7/17/2009
‘‘Ryan is a young American. 24 years old,
sporting an unassuming t-shirt and buzz cut,
he exudes a personality simultaneously re-
served and forthright. He has a gracious
smile, offered with a twist of the head but
then when he looks at you, with a piercing
gaze, his face turns serious. As a writer, he
seeks to deeply understand people, yet some
things, like healthcare insurance, elude even
his keen comprehension. Brought up in a
family who never had health insurance,
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E23
Ryan is, nevertheless, a man with energetic
ambitions. After an early honorable dis-
charge from the Army—for medical rea-
sons—and a fruitless search for a job, he is
working to finish his first novel, Ever Street
Road, a parable, as he calls it, for the choices
in life that one makes. Yet, in this great
country, bursting with infinite possibility,
Ryan has few, if any, choices. Infinitude
meets finitude—this is America. The future
is but an illusion. Not knowing whether
there will be healthcare for all or only
healthcare for some, Ryan and I, sharing din-
ner, are focused on the present and the past.
This is the only thing we truly know. The fu-
ture, a future where the young ambitions of
earnest, yet thwarted souls, might reach
their full potential, is only a dream. Reality
is how I met Ryan and what brought him to
run up the hill to meet me on US 30 as 18-
wheelers thundered past. Just east of North
Versailles, about 25 miles beyond my initial
walking point, the last few miles trundled on
through with pain. My feet—a jumble of col-
lapsing arches, exploding blisters, and hem-
orrhaging nail beds—were beyond rebellion. I
would have ordinarily arranged a pick-up to
take me to the next hotel—now about eight
miles east—but this had not materialized.
And the transport for the bag—the 70 pound
suitcased monstrosity—from which I live,
had not been arranged. And despite the phys-
ical tribulations of walking nearly 24 miles a
day, the most challenging part of the Walk
has been the logistics. Lodging, pick-up
(often the bunk down place is not necessarily
on my walking route), and bag transport had
all to be arranged. If any one of these ele-
ments fell through, the Walk would come to
a standstill. At this point, I was not worried
so much about that. With the sun now set-
ting, knowing that I would soon be walking
in the dark—the time when sounds become
more important than sights—I was worried
about my survival, concerned about arriving
at the motel—if I made it at all—well after
midnight. At the bottom of the hill, I had
stopped at a McDonald’s to replenish myself
with water and recharge my phone batteries.
I slipped on my safety vest and grimly head-
ed up the hill. A young man, gasping for
breath, came up beside me. Cars rushed by
and instinctively motioned him towards the
narrow shoulder. ‘Are . . . are you Doctor
Gurel?’ he asked, wide-eyed, disbelieving. I
was on the phone, still working feverishly to
arrange transport of my bag. Too tired to be
surprised, I smiled at him, and nodded. ‘I was
following you on Twitter and . . . and I just
had to come and meet you.’ I hung up the
phone, and out of habit continued on for-
ward, as the young man joined me. ‘I’m
Ryan, Ryan Trump,’ he added. Oh yes! From
Facebook! ‘Yes,’ he said, his face twisting,
searching for words to describe a situation
for which there was no precedent. ‘Wow, I
can’t believe this.’ What? ‘That I met you
here.’ I chuckled. ‘Crazy, isn’t it?’ Ryan and
I had exchanged some e-mails during the
past few weeks on Facebook, and it was
strange indeed that an entirely electronic
friendship had materialized here on the not-
so-isolated Lincoln Highway east of Pitts-
burgh. And so we talked—talked with amaze-
ment about the GPS tracking technology
that had brought Ryan to my very spot. We
talked about healthcare. But I had to inter-
rupt him. Ryan, I have a problem. ‘What’s
that?’ My motel is about seven miles up, in
Irwin. I have no pick-up to get there. Could
you help out? ‘That’s the least I can do!’ I
smiled weakly. Deliverance, in the form of
Ryan Trump, shy but forthright, gracious
but ambitious, had arrived. I was grateful for
the wonders of technology and even more for
the grace of initiative and real, not elec-
tronic, fellowship. And so, after a couple of
hours of back-and-forth driving, Ryan and I
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 E24 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks
delivered the suitcase and myself to the
motel in Irwin. But that was the present.
The following evening I had dinner with
Ryan and we talked about the past. The
present and the past: while this is what we
know, we spoke out of hope for the future. A
future with healthcare for all, and not just
for some. A future where the imagined infini-
tude of possibilities cross with the crushing
reality of no possibility. ‘My family has
never had health insurance,’ Ryan told me.
‘My father worked in maintenance at the
hospital for 36 years. And we never had
health insurance but we could get care
through the hospital.’ That’s good, I replied.
‘Then the hospital closed, back in 2006, and
he got laid off . . . but he was close to retire-
ment anyway.’ So what do you do now? ‘It’s
difficult. My mom’s got a heart condition,
had a heart attack back in 2000. You know it
could always happen again. She’s got four
types of drugs.’ How do you pay for it? ‘It’s
all out-of-pocket.’ But you told me that you
had troubles with the bank. ‘That’s just the
way it goes—you pay for the medications
when you can.’ I shook my head. And how
about for you? What’s it like to not have in-
surance? Ryan, who would usually look
straight at me with those forthright, almost
aggressive eyes, glanced down. ‘Well, you got
aches and pains, but you think, do I deal
with the pain or do I go to the hospital and
suffer accumulated debt? I’m 24 years old
and my credit score is probably garbage.
Can’t do anything in life with that, you
know.’ I figured, listening between the lines,
that Ryan had, in fact, gotten some
healthcare, and the ‘accumulated debt’ he
had referred to was real. How’s the asthma?
I asked. (This was the reason for the honor-
able, medical discharge from the service.)
‘Oh, that’s not too bad. But there was this
other situation.’ What was that? Ryan
thought for a moment, then looked up. ‘Well,
I had a lump,’ he said, pointing below the
table. 24 year old young man, I realized that
he was likely referring to testicular cancer—
a condition made widely known by Lance
Armstrong’s experience, and survival. Did
you get it checked out? ‘Well, I was holding
off for the longest time. But it was quickly
getting bigger.’ My heart sank, but the fact
of the rapid enlargement, encouragingly sug-
gested to me that it wasn’t cancer. And? ‘So
I did go to the doctor eventually.’ Ryan
smiled and sighed. ‘He said it was some sort
of hydrocele.’ Oh yes, that’s good news.
‘They did an ultrasound . . . and, of course,
I got all the bills. There was no way I could
pay for them so I didn’t even open them up.’
An odd mix, a contradiction even, that with
the wonderful news—namely that one did not
have cancer—there came delivered a message
of debt peonage that inspired even more de-
spair than the dreaded diagnosis itself. It
was almost as if the healthcare system itself
was the cancer.’’ Ryan—Greensburg, 7/17/2009
‘‘Bob has worked for the government for 44
years. He told me that he’s always had
health insurance (BC/BS via the government
plan). ‘Why is it not possible to make that
available to all?’ he wondered. ‘It’s the same
plan as that for Congressmen and Senators.’
He added that it was a big pool and that ‘it
would bring in younger people, make the in-
surance for all more affordable.’ But, he ex-
plained, ‘It’s different with corporate Amer-
ica. I’m retired now but I still get the same
coverage as those who are still employed in
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government.’ ’’ Bob—Greensburg, 7/18/2009
‘‘Terry’s here in Greensburg visiting from
Philadelphia. She shared with me the story
of her mother’s untimely death, which re-
sulted, in her estimation, from a night-
marish confluence of administrative barriers
and inhumane insurance policies. The story
goes as follows. Her mother underwent a
liver biopsy. This was on a Friday. As Terry
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explained to me, ’She was done as an out-
patient, but even though the surgeon said it
was complicated, with bleeders, she was not
permitted by her insurance to stay over-
night.’ She returned home for the weekend.
On Sunday, she went to the emergency room
with escalating pain but was sent home
again being told it was a gallbladder prob-
lem. The pain still unbearable, she returned
to the ER within three hours. ‘From what we
learned,’ Terry said, ‘there was a blood clot
pressing on the bile duct.’ She progressed
rapidly downhill from there ending up three-
and-a-half weeks in the ICU (battling sepsis).
Six weeks after the biopsy she died. Terry
finished the story. ‘If only the insurance had
been more flexible, had considered true med-
ical necessity, in observing my mother the
first night after her procedure, perhaps she
would still be with us now.’ ’’ Terry—Greens-
burg, 7/19/2009
‘‘ ‘I haven’t had health insurance since ’92,’
Ed told me, when I asked him if he had any
healthcare stories. ‘That’s when Bethlehem
Steel closed down—so, no insurance, for me.’
I nodded. I can understand. I don’t have in-
surance either. I don’t think Ed really heard
me as he continued, ‘I’m glad I’m healthy be-
cause if not, I’d be dead.’ Ed plays quite a bit
of soccer (he’s wearing his soccer t-shirt
now) and he told me of an injury he had a
few years back. He got hit pretty hard at a
soccer game at the Y. ‘Got myself a gash on
my head and some sort of shoulder injury.’
And so he went to the emergency room.
When he told them he lacked insurance, Ed
told me that the doctor basically said,
‘Stitch him up and send him home.’ Ed had
an angry look on his face. ‘I got 27 stitches
but they did nothing about my shoulder.’ I
suppose I could understand his displeasure as
with all that he got a bill for $2,300. ‘I still
haven’t paid it, and I never will be able to,’
he said. Despite these distressing stories, Ed
was not really as sour as his tale would make
him to be. We talked about quite a few other
topics and he wished me well on my journey,
closing in now, on Washington, DC.’’ Ed—
Stoystown, 7/19/2009
‘‘Karl, a volunteer Ambassador at the
Flight 93 Memorial, told me he doesn’t be-
lieve in a government-run system. According
to him, the free-market is the best though he
acknowledged that having insurance linked
to employment was a problem. ‘Empower the
individual,’ Karl explained to me. So how
about your own situation, I asked. ‘We’re not
well-to-do,’ he said. ‘I get my health insur-
ance from the state, a plan called Special
Care which is in between Medicaid and pri-
vate insurance.’ And how’s it going with
that? ‘Very well actually,’ he answered. ‘It’s
not connected to employment status so I
have the freedom to change jobs without
changing my health coverage.’ [On a side
note, Karl, in his presentation to the thirty
some-odd gathered visitors at the memorial
explained how about $40 million more was
needed to complete the permanent Flight 93
Memorial. I recalled how anti-reform indus-
try groups were spending (as reported by the
Wall Street Journal) about $1.4 million a day
in their selfish and grasping efforts to
thwart (or worse manipulate) healthcare re-
form. That means that about a month of
that spending (the time it took for me to
walk from Chicago to DC) would cover the
remaining cost of the Memorial—a tribute,
as most know, to Americans who gave the
last full measure of sacrifice for their fellow
citizens.]’’ Karl—Shanksville, 7/19/2009
‘‘Kay’s a part-owner of a small business—
all of three people. Because of the high cost
of health insurance, the deductibles, and all
that, ’they’ve got no discretionary income,’
she told me. They’re with Highmark and the
premium went up $100 a month within the
past few months alone. Her husband has had
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January 6, 2011
two heart surgeries (done at the Cleveland
Clinic). The cost was $4,000 a day but they
ended up paying $700. ‘That was a relief,’ she
said. ‘But we’re lucky. We can afford
healthcare insurance—barely—but that
leaves us with no extra money.’ Clearly up-
to-date on various health reform proposals,
she added, ‘It would be nice if I could deduct
it as a tax credit. But here’s the real prob-
lem,’ Kay continued. ‘If my husband—or I—
couldn’t work then we wouldn’t be able to
maintain the income to pay for any insur-
ance. How will we be able to pay for health
insurance when we actually need it most?
That’s what doesn’t make sense.’ I was
readying to leave when Kay interrupted.
‘One more thing. I think much of these pre-
mium monies are being wasted.’ How so? I
asked. ‘I went to a Pirates game and they
were giving out free bobblehead dolls. Guess
who sponsored all that?’ Who? ‘Highmark.
That’s where health insurance premiums
go—to advertising.’ And so my experience
came full circle as I recalled the giant
Highmark billboards scattered among Pitts-
burgh’s downtown when I had been there four
days earlier.’’ Kay—Bedford, 7/20/2009
‘‘I met with Eric in Jim’s living room (at
the home where I stayed that night). Jim
had invited several neighbors to stop by for
a discussion of healthcare reform and Eric
was gracious enough to share his story with
me. First, he does not have health insurance.
He looked into it, reviewed the policies from
three companies and saw that there was es-
sentially no difference among them. ‘It was
80/20 coverage and no doctors were covered,’
he told me. The premiums started off at $300
a month and went up to $900 a month within
a year. ‘Worse than the cable company!’ And
so he dropped the coverage. As it turns out,
Eric did have a serious health issue last
year—a pituitary adenoma (a form of benign,
but still very dangerous, brain tumor). One
morning he woke up nearly blind—all he
could see was a tiny pin-prick of light (an ex-
treme form of a condition called ‘tunnel vi-
sion’). He had himself taken to the emer-
gency room. To make a long story short, he
was treated at UPMC. He told me ‘Hershey
refused to talk because he had no insurance.’
Being without insurance, he now, after all
was said and done, owed $160,000. He was able
to make deals with the doctors but the hos-
pital, he told me, ‘was never cooperative—a
monster to deal with. And there was no nego-
tiation.’ He told me about his ongoing strug-
gles with the hospital. ‘And the billing was
so strange,’ he added. As someone who
checks things out carefully, he told me how
an MRI at UPMC cost $7,000 but the same
scan, on the same machine, cost $2,000 in the
nearby town of Altoona. ‘And a single Ty-
lenol pill cost $10! It’s a crazy system.’ ’’
Eric—Bedford, 7/20/2009
‘‘Gloria is the owner of Hollinshead gro-
cery. She told me how the grocery, a family
business, has been in Harrisonville for over a
hundred years. Being self-employed, she
hasn’t had health coverage for more than
twenty years, ever since her husband’s com-
pany went out of business. ‘It’s just too ex-
pensive to get insurance being self-em-
ployed,’ she told me. Three years ago, her
husband had a heart attack and died. She ex-
plained that paying for his care, even in the
midst of grieving, was not easy. ‘A Harris-
burg doctor accepted a payment plan,’ and
she also applied for Hill-Burton funds to pay
for testing and other hospital costs. ‘Things
were not easy,’ she added, with a touch of
melancholy.’’ Gloria—Harrisonville, 7/21/2009
‘‘Mike, a customer at Hollinshead’s Gro-
cery, lost his job at Caterpillar in February
and is now without insurance. ‘COBRA was
much too expensive,’ he said. His unemploy-
ment check was $325 a week and health cov-
erage cost over $400 a month. His children,
E06JAPT1
 January 6, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks
‘fortunately,’ he told me, are covered
through the state (ACCESS program). He
seemed calm as he explained this predica-
ment. ‘My wife just got diagnosed with Lyme
disease, though—a tick-bite right here in our
back yard.’ Eyes perked up among the others
sitting about the grocery. He told me, ‘We’re
paying cash for the lab bill.’ It had originally
been $307 but they were able to get it dis-
counted to $187. ‘The doctor’s bill was $80—
and that’s just for the diagnosis,’ he added.
‘For the actual treatment, we’re dependin’
on free samples.’ ’’ Mike—Harrisonville, 7/21/
2009
‘‘Martin has been out-of-work since last
year. ‘Obviously I have no insurance,’ he
said. He has insulin-dependent diabetes and
gets some healthcare through the Pennsyl-
vania ACCESS card. He explained that, ‘If I
go back to work, however, I’ll lose my med-
ical care.’ That’s a disincentive to work, I
said. ‘Sure is . . . I need to stay under twen-
ty hours a week to get medical care. If I
work more, there’s no job, no way I could
pay for the healthcare and medicines. I can’t
just drop the insulin.’ ’’ Martin—
Harrisonville, 7/21/2009
‘‘ ‘I would call myself a fiscal conserv-
ative,’ Jim told me as we sat together dis-
cussing healthcare in his living room. ‘I be-
lieve that health savings accounts, HSAs,
and patient involvement in the decisions will
be important to bring costs under control.’
He added that in his experience, once health
benefits are provided, it’s ‘very difficult to
backtrack.’ He’s worked in government for
32 years and is currently retired. ‘Personally,
I think the government plan, if made avail-
able to all, would work well. I think that
would be easy to implement. It allows
choice, there’s already a mechanism to col-
lect premiums and there could be some in-
come tiering.’ ’’ Jim—Bedford, 7/21/2009
‘‘ ‘I think that it’s possible to have a very
basic plan as a public good.’ Jo told me she’s
seen examples of that and she ‘believes it’s a
good use of taxpayer money.’ But she also re-
alizes how it could get out-of-hand. ‘It all de-
pends on how and what ‘‘basic’’ is defined as,’
she said. ‘Sometimes that’s too abstract.’ ’’
Jo.—Bedford, 7/21/2009
f Tiffany insisted on smiling when I took her
RULES OF THE HOUSE
SPEECH OF
HON. EARL BLUMENAUER
OF OREGON
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I am
deeply disappointed in the Rules package as-
sembled by my Republican colleagues. In their
campaigns, they promised to improve trans-
parency and to reduce the deficit. These
Rules break those promises.
Under these Rules, the new Republican ma-
jority will enact a draconian budget without a
single hearing, without any input from the
Budget Committee, without any outreach to
Congressional Democrats, and without a direct
vote by the House of Representatives. Merely
by entering a statement into the record, the
Budget Chairman can subject all spending be-
yond whatever levels he deems appropriate to
pwalker on DSKD5P82C1PROD with REMARKS
a point of order. This level of concentrated au-
thority runs contrary to the premise of trans-
parency that Republicans campaigned on,
and, given its disregard for scrutiny, runs the
risk of greatly damaging our economy and the
welfare of millions.
The rules themselves make a mockery of
prudent budgeting. While the Republican rhet-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:43 Jan 07, 2011 Jkt 099060
oric has been laudable in some instances,
their ‘‘Cut-as-you-go’’ rule is riddled with loop-
holes. For instance, it allows tax cuts for cor-
porations to be deficit financed, while pro-
grams like child tax credits must find offsets.
In fact, these rules forbid eliminating even the
narrowest special interest tax loophole to find
revenue for effective government programs.
The most casual glance at the origin of this
country’s debts illustrates the fallacy of their
approach. Without finding a dime to offset the
cost to our Nation, these rules make it pos-
sible to both make permanent the 2001 and
2003 Bush tax cuts for the highest-income tax-
payers and to repeal the Affordable Care Act,
which not only saves nearly $150 billion during
the next 10 years, but reduces healthcare
costs by nearly a trillion dollars during the fol-
lowing decades.
In no way do these rules result in the type
of prudent budgeting that my Republican col-
leagues campaigned on, nor does it resemble
anything like what any hardworking American
family must do. At a time when the Republican
majority is pledging greater openness, the
Rules are also anti-democratic by depriving
600,000 taxpaying D.C. residents of their abil-
ity to have their voice heard in the Committee
of the Whole.
The Rules package also undermines oppor-
tunities to continue investing in America.
By eliminating the point of order guarding
Highway Trust Fund balances this Republican
majority threatens investments in communities
large and small across the country. Histori-
cally, this point of order ensured that Con-
gress delivered on the transportation invest-
ments promised in the transportation author-
ization, and that States and communities could
count on the long-term commitments made in
that legislation. By removing this point of
order, and allowing Highway Trust Fund bal-
ances to accrue and mask the actual deficit,
the Republicans are engaging in budget gim-
mickry that undermines our economy and the
safety of our communities.
Organizations from the Chamber of Com-
merce to the American Association of Highway
Transportation Officials have expressed their
strong concern about destabilizing transpor-
tation funding, and have urged the Republican
Conference to make changes. I join with these
organizations in expressing my concern and
disappointment.
At a time when the need to invest in our
communities is higher than ever, these rules
will make it possible for the Republican Con-
gress to decrease our investment in infrastruc-
ture, undermining efforts to rebuild and renew
communities across the country. In addition to
the new rule regarding the Highway Trust
Fund, these Republican rules also limit the
ability of the House to raise revenue for the
Highway Trust Fund. At a time when our
needs are greater than ever, and individuals
and organizations across the country are call-
ing on Congress to upgrade our Nation’s
roads, bridges, and transit systems, limiting
our options—as these Rules do—is short-
sighted and foolhardy.
PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K06JA8.011
E25
THE WALK FOR HEALTHCARE:
HEALTHCARE STORIES FROM
MARYLAND AND WASHINGTON,
DC, COLLECTED BY OGAN
GUREL, M.D.
HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I submit the
following stories, collected by Dr. Ogan Gurel.
‘‘Tamara told me, ‘She was lucky having
health insurance.’ Knowing generally that
lack of insurance was a problem, she didn’t
have any particular personal stories to
share. But when I asked about health reform,
she said, simply enough, that, ‘More should
be done.’ ’’ Tamara—Hagerstown, 7/22/2009
‘‘Patrick has been on and off insurance all
his life. ‘More off than on,’ he further clari-
fied for me. ‘My credit rating is trashed be-
cause of medical stuff.’ And in the 80s he had
a skull injury. ‘I actually had insurance but
not everything was covered so I just couldn’t
pay.’ He seemed relaxed for someone for
whom the system seemed not to work—
forced into debt, even with insurance, and
now suffering the consequence of ruined
credit. But perhaps one gets used to such
predicament.’’ Patrick—Hagerstown, 7/22/2009
‘‘Tiffany doesn’t have a job, nor does she
have health insurance. As a single mom, her
daughter gets assistance through the state.
For herself, she did have to go to the emer-
gency room one time last year but as she
didn’t fill out the form for medical assist-
ance in time (there was a three-month time
limit), she ended up owing $4,000. Now she’s
being taken to court by the hospital, Wash-
ington County. ‘I get phone calls every day
from the bill collectors,’ she tells me. ‘And
I’m scared to go back to the doctor for any-
thing including my frozen shoulder.’ With
some trepidation, she told me she knew
somebody who was threatened with jail for
not responding to court summons for a med-
ical bill. ‘It’s not a good situation to be in,’
she told me. Despite her unhappy troubles,
picture.’’ Tiffany—Hagerstown, 7/23/2009
‘‘I met Terry at the Oriole Club, a local bar
where I stopped in during a ferocious thun-
derstorm to take a water break. Terry be-
lieves in preventative medicine, eating right,
exercising—being positive. She doesn’t have
insurance and with two kids, she’s busy pro-
viding them with a home and feeding them
right. Last year she got very sick but nobody
would take her. Because she has no primary
care doctor, it costs $250 just to get in the
door. The others seated along the bar gave
knowing looks. She told me she prayed a lot,
especially when her temperature hit 104. ‘But
I survived,’ she said with a smile. ‘But, if you
don’t have insurance,’ she told me, ‘you’re
treated different.’ ’’ Terry—Middletown, 7/23/
2009
‘‘Sonny told me the story of a girl in town.
Many of the others seated at the bar recog-
nized her plight. ‘She’s worked for ten years,
without insurance,’ Sonny told me. And she
got sick with a gallbladder problem and,
‘probably because she couldn’t work on ac-
count of her illness,’ she was laid off. She
needs a gallbladder removal but the doctor
keeps putting her off. ‘Nobody wants to treat
her,’ he added. ‘And she went to see the spe-
cialist but he wanted $300 up front.’ Karen,
sitting alongside, squirmed in disapproval.
‘Everyone’s giving her the run-around . . .
And there seems to be no way out of her situ-
ation.’ ’’ Sonny—Middletown, 7/23/2009
‘‘Chris works at the Days Inn in Frederick.
He’s an insulin-dependent diabetic (that’s his
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